278
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
Bishop's Stortford (Iron Age).—On the west side of the
Harlow road, about one mile from the centre of the town, a
pit in Glacial Gravel (long since abandoned) showed a pit-
dwelling with pot sherds of the earlier phase of the Prehistoric
Iron Age, formerly called Hallstatt. There was also some crude
flint flaking, evidently contemporary, illustrating the art of the
flint flaker in its decadence.
Tilekiln Green (Holocene Shell-Bed).—This site is 21/4
miles east of Bishop's Stortford, on the floor of a small valley,
and nearly half a mile below the source of its streamlet, which
is a tributary of the Stort. At the source there are ornamental
garden ponds, evidently fed by springs. The pit lies between
Stane Street and the Dunmow branch railway, and on the
rising ground towards the latter the section shows several feet of
Boulder Clay overlying some 15 feet of gravel containing ice-
scratched stones and weathered igneous rocks. The gravel is
replaced by sand towards the east, while below there is London
Clay with shark's teeth and Septaria.
The main interest lies in a rich Holocene shell-bed found
on a patch of marshy ground where outflows of spring water
formerly deposited calcareous material. The marly shell-bed
extends laterally for 55 yards from the present stream, and rises
12 feet above it up the slope of the ground ; its longitudinal
extent may be about 300 yards, but has not been so precisely
determined. A little farther downstream a section showed
only peat up to three feet thick without marl or shell-bed.
The following section was measured at about eight feet above
the stream :—
7. Loam and surface soil, 18 inches, with much Mediaeval
roofing-tile, which may be related to the name, "Tilekiln Green."
Also some Romano-British sherds.
6. The Shell-bed, consisting of a mixture of marl and peat,
with a few pot-boilers, and a small number of flint flakes, giving
no useful information. 1 foot.
5. White Marl, or soft travertin, deposited from solution
in water, mixed with a little peaty material ; contains some
shells, which are included in the list with those from the more
prolific shell-bed. 6 inches.
4. Decayed Peat, with marly patches containing some shells.
1 foot 8 inches.
3. Line of angular flints (frost shattered).
2. Grey Clay [? Boulder Clay]. 6 inches.
1. Glacial Sand.